Until 2008, the Catechism remained a Catholic book - a collection of Christian doctrines.
The Bishops' Council of 2008 approved the publication of the Orthodox Catechism, on the compilation of which Orthodox theologians, specialists and professors of spiritual institutions volunteered to work.
In 2016, the Council of Bishops of the Orthodox Church of Russia considered the first draft of the book of answers and questions and sent it for discussion to the priests for general church discussion.
What is a catechism
Translated from Greek, this word means teaching, instruction or instruction. Christian books published in the Middle Ages were called catechisms. In the published manuals for Christians, various authors gave an answer to the question of interest to the people.
Orthodox catechism
Read about some of the commandments of God:
Interestingly, the catechism was issued only for priests, who were to deliver it orally to the people. In a secular society, a catechism is called a set of unwritten rules for a certain circle of people.
If for Catholics this book is symbolic, for the Orthodox it remains as a guide for Christians.
In the draft Orthodox book of questions and answers submitted to the priests for consideration, the following chapters are the main ones:
- Foundations of Orthodoxy.
- Foundations of Canons and Liturgies in Orthodoxy.
- The foundations of the morals of Orthodox education.
- The main social concepts of the Russian Orthodox Church.
- The main beliefs of the Russian Church regarding dignity, human rights and freedom.
- Fundamentals of the principles of relationships with people of other confessions.
The holy passages in the book of questions and answers can only be cited with links and explanations.
The history of the emergence of the Catechism
Cyril of Jerusalem, Augustine and John Chrysostom wrote entire letters, which later became models for writing subsequent catechisms.
Catechism - a short guide to the Orthodox faith
From these books, newly converted Christians drew information:
- about the Sacraments of the Church and the operation of the Holy Gifts;
- about the symbols of the Orthodox faith;
- about the meaning of the main prayer "Our Father";
- about the ten commandments and eight deadly sins.
About sins in Orthodoxy:
For the first time, a book of questions and answers in the form of a textbook for clergy was compiled by Bruno of Würzburg in the 11th century.
At the end of the 13th century, Thomas Aquinas delivered wonderful sermons, explaining in an accessible language the concepts of the symbols of faith, "Our Father" and the basic commandments given by God through the Apostle Moses.
Until 1254, no explanation of church concepts was given at divine services, and only the Albian Council obliged priests during church services to explain to believers the meaning of the symbols of faith.
With the rise of Protestantism, catechism reached its peak when the first Catechism came out, authored by the Protestant Althamer.
In 1541, Calvin issued his copy, a book of questions and answers in French, and then in Latin.
In 1642 I saw the first Orthodox copy, written by Peter Mogila.
Interesting! In each country, at a certain time, printed messages appear, designed to reveal to Christians the subtleties of the Catholic and Orthodox beliefs.
An extensive catechism of St. Philaret for Christians
Opening the book of the saint, one is amazed at the simplicity and accessibility of its writing. In short and clear answers, Father Filaret gives a definition of faith and its difference from knowledge.
Catechism. Saint Philaret of Moscow
Turning over the pages of God's holy scripture, you read in an accessible form about the concept of Divine things, how to distinguish between the Divine and the worldly, how a person can cognize the Creator and accept His revelations.
The next chapter introduces Christians to the Holy Scriptures and Sacred Traditions, indicating where the Bible occupies. From Philaret's epistle, every believer learns that the Bible contains law-affirming, teaching, history books and prophetic messages.
It is also indicated here that the apostle is the messenger of God.
Further, the holy father gives answers to all kinds of questions regarding faith, hope and love in all their aspects, both human and divine. Expanding the symbol of faith “I believe in one God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit” into its components, Filaret pays due attention to each hypostasis.
In this chapter, the answer is clearly given what an angel, devil, breath of life, paradise and much more are.
Important! After reading the message, you come to a clear understanding of who Jesus is, what the power of His sacrifice is, and what role the Holy Spirit plays in the lives of Christians.
The first chapter describes 12 articles of faith.
The second chapter is devoted to hope in all its forms. The Catechism of Filaret describes what hope the Lord gives in grace, in the 9 Beatitudes, 6 types of forgiveness and the Lord's prayer.
The third chapter, dedicated to love, details the 10 commandments of the Lord.
In conclusion, Saint Philaret gives instructions on how to use the Epistle written by him.
The Orthodox Catechism is an "Encyclopedia of Christian Life" in which every believer will find an answer to a question that worries him.
Orthodox alphabet. Catechism
Each of the currents of the Christian religion has a book from which believers can find answers to the most common questions of theology. In addition, it contains information on primary Christian education before. Such a book is called a catechism.
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- What is a catechism
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- Catholic catechism
What is a catechism
The word "catechism" comes from the ancient Greek language. Literal translation - instruction, lesson. This book is also called catechism, as it contains the foundations of the doctrine.
In Wikipedia, the catechism is described as an official confessional document of any denomination, as well as an expository instruction, and a book that contains the main provisions of the doctrine, often expressed in the form of questions and answers.
In general, the term itself is not purely theological. From the literal translation of the word, it follows that such a name can be given to any detailed manual, compiled in the same manner as the indicated church book.
So, in the summer of 1869 in Geneva, S.G. Nechaev wrote the "Catechism of a Revolutionary" containing the ideas of a large-scale terror against the government with a huge number of victims.
Religious publications of this type of the Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches differ due to differences in the interpretation of Scripture. In addition, attitudes towards this book also differ in different denominations.
In Catholicism and Protestantism, these publications are considered symbolic books, but in Orthodoxy they are considered only as a guide for believers.
In addition, the very word "catechism" sometimes it is used for the names of works composed in the form of questions and answers, or some symbol of faith or a collection of some unshakable principles.
Creation of a unified Orthodox leadership
In the first quarter of the nineteenth century, various versions of the confessional edition became very popular. The manuals under the authorship of Metropolitans Peter Mohyla and Platon were in the greatest demand. Yet the church did not agree with the accuracy of the presentation of the foundations of Orthodoxy in the indicated editions.
To change the current situation, it was decided to publish a new version of the manual, and to include in it quotes from old biblical books, which by that time had already been translated into Russian. The result of the decisions taken was a new unified Orthodox catechism, work on which began in 1822.
An extensive catechism of Metropolitan Philaret
Who was the author of the first Orthodox manual? The creation of a single confessional book, reflecting the foundations of Orthodoxy, in 1822 was entrusted to one of the most educated and professional Russian theologians, Filaret Drozdov, who was the Metropolitan of Moscow and Kolomna. The text of the manual was written by him in 1823. At the same time The synod approved it, approved as a guide and sent for publication.
Later, Filaret's catechism was corrected many times both by the author himself and by other members of the Synod. The metropolitan's work became so in demand that it was reprinted many times. Famous theologians, including Metropolitan Macarius, consider this book to be symbolic. The work of St. Philaret is ranked among the most authoritative sources of the dogmas of the doctrine of Orthodoxy, since it is in it that the basic tenets of the church are reflected as fully as possible.
This version of the confession book had many advantages, among which stood out:
In 1824, four editions of the book were published at once, which were typed in both Church Slavonic and civil. There were two books for each typeface.
In the middle of 1824, the "Short Catechism" was first published... Who was this edition for? An abbreviated version of the manual was intended primarily for children. However, even among adults there were many who wanted to read just this version of the book. Indeed, for those who almost did not know literacy, this edition was very convenient. It collected the text, which in Filaret's book stood out in large print, that is, was the most important.
After the release of a short version of the manual, the work of the metropolitan began to be called "Extensive".
The structure of the confession book
The Orthodox catechism, which was written by Metropolitan Philaret, begins with a section telling the reader of the book the basic concepts of doctrine. In addition, it describes how the Russian Orthodox The Church interprets the concept of Divine Revelation, and also tells about the Holy Scriptures. The second section consists of three large parts, each part is devoted to one of the main Christian virtues - faith, hope and love.
The first part is called "On Faith." This part provides a detailed overview of the Nikeo-Constantinople Symbol in Orthodoxy, as well as a story about the seven sacraments of the Christian religion.
The second part is called "On Hope" and tells about this concept in Christianity and explains the role of prayer for a believer. In particular, the exaltation of the "Our Father" is described in detail. In addition, this section includes an explanation of the 10 Beatitudes.
The third part is called "On Love"... She talks about God's ten commandments. Four of these commandments are engraved on the first and represent the commandments of love for the Creator. The next six are the laws of neighborly love.
The confessional book ends with the chapter "The Use of the Doctrine of Faith and Piety."
Studying the structure of the publication, it should be noted that the person who compiled it made the book convenient for study and perception. The text is written in the form of "question-answer". In addition, he logically moves from an introduction to the foundations of Orthodoxy to an explanation of the very essence of the confession.
Controversial authorship of Filaret
After the publication of Filaret's catechism, those who questioned the Metropolitan's authorship appeared among Orthodox theologians. This was due to the fact that the confessional book was drastically edited many times.
In addition, the Chief Prosecutor of the Holy Synod, who was a secular person, contributed to the drafting of the confessional document. It is believed that because of this fact, the book mentions not all creeds, and it also contains a description of the influence of heterodox theology. There is an opinion that, for these reasons, Filaret's catechism cannot be considered an unshakable dogma of the Orthodox faith.
Religious book in the modern ROC
For the first time, the idea of creating a modern catechism was announced in 2008 at the Bishops' Council. A year later, the Holy Synod instructed the Synodal Theological Commission, later renamed the Synodal Biblical-Theological Commission, abbreviated SBBC, to begin work on the modern catechism of the Russian Orthodox Church... Metropolitan Illarion (Alfeyev) became the head of the group that took up this work.
Leading theologians of the Russian Orthodox Church were involved in the work on the text, including members of the SBBC, professors of theological academies, as well as specialists in theological science.
The first version of this work was completed in January 2016. On January 29, 2016, a meeting of the full composition of the SBBC took place, where the project was unanimously adopted. After that, the book was presented to the members of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church, which took place on February 2 and 3, 2016. There it was decided to send the draft of the publication to the permanent members of the Holy Synod, as well as to the First Hierarch of the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia, in addition, to the leading theological schools and heads of institutions under the Holy Synod, bishops of some dioceses for review.
Based on reviews received during the review, the draft was updated, and in July 2017 a new version of the catechism of the Russian Orthodox Church was submitted for general church discussion.
The structure of a modern religious publication is as follows:
Foreword
I. Fundamentals of the Orthodox faith
II. Foundations of the canonical structure and liturgical life of the Orthodox Church
III. Fundamentals of Orthodox moral teaching
IV. Fundamentals of the social concept of the Russian Orthodox Church
V. Fundamentals of the Teaching of the Russian Orthodox Church on Dignity, Freedom and Human Rights
Vi. Basic principles of the attitude of the Russian Orthodox Church towards non-Orthodox
Catholic catechism
The confessional document of the Roman Catholic Church is a logical and understandable statement of the Catholic faith.
Who wrote the Catholic catechism? This question cannot be answered unequivocally. The book was written by the Commission of the Synod of Bishops by the decision of the same Synod, which took place in 1985. On June 25, 1992, the publication was approved by Pope John Paul II in his letter "Laetamur magnopere". The catechism of the Catholic Church was promulgated on October 11, 1992 through an apostolic constitution called the "Fidei depositum".
The book is written in Latin and represents 2865 articles, which are linked by cross-references. There are translations of the original document in different languages, including Russian. This allows everyone who professes Catholicism or is interested in this denomination to read a confessional document without the services of translators.
The preface to the publication indicates that it is intended primarily for catechists, that is, for people teaching the faith.
The structure of the document has four pillars, such as:
- Creed - the confession of faith, which is received at baptism;
- Commandments about the sacraments of faith;
- Commandments about living in faith;
- - the prayer of the believer.
On the title page and cover of the book there is an emblem, which is an element of the tombstone of Christians, found in the Roman catacombs of Domitilla and dating back to the 3rd century.
The image of a good shepherd sitting under a tree with a sheep at his feet and holding a pipe and a rod was originally pagan. But Christians borrowed this image, giving it a Christian meaning, and began to use it as a symbol of the happiness and peace that the soul of the deceased finds in eternal life.
Literally, the image shows the main meaning of the book:
- the good shepherd is Christ, leading and protecting those who believe in him;
- sheep - believing Catholics;
- the rod is the power of the Lord;
- the pipe is a melodic symphony of truth that draws people to faith;
- the tree of life, giving rest to believers - the Cross, who atoned for the sins of people and opens the gates to paradise.
The Catechism is an introduction to Christian denominations such as Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Protestantism. A person who has decided to learn more about his religion, or is simply interested in this topic, will be able to get answers to all questions about religion that interest him, if he thoughtfully and carefully read such a book. After all, it has long been known from the sacred text that he who seeks will always find.
The Orthodox catechism is an instruction in the Christian Orthodox faith, taught to every Christian for the delight of God and the salvation of the soul.
Catechism in translation from the Greek means catechism, oral instruction, and in accordance with the use since the times of the Apostles, this word denotes the original teaching about the Christian Orthodox faith, which is necessary for every Christian (Luke 1, 4, Acts 18:25)
Catechism contains the foundations of the Orthodox Christian Faith. It is usually presented in short and clear questions and answers. The book can be divided into four parts: I-Introduction, II-Christian Faith, III-Christian Hope and IV-Christian Love.
The I-Introduction speaks of Divine revelation, Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition.
Section II "Christian Faith" studies the dogmas of the Orthodox faith that are contained in the Creed.
Prayer is studied in Section III, "Christian Hope". The Lord's Prayer - Our Father is taken as a model of prayer.
Section IV "Christian Love" studies the Law on Life: Ten Commandments and Beatitudes.
I - INTRODUCTION TO KATIKHISIS.
The Orthodox Christian Church takes its teaching from natural and supernatural Divine revelation. Natural revelation is the knowledge that we draw from observing the nature and the world that the Lord God created. Supernatural revelation is the knowledge that is found in the books of Holy Scripture.
The Scriptures are divided into the Old Testament and the New Testament.
The Old Testament describes events before the birth of Jesus Christ, and the New Testament after His birth.
The books of the Old Testament are divided into law-positive, historical, teaching, and prophetic. The most famous book of the Old Testament is called the Psalter.
The books of the New Testament are divided into the Gospel and the Apostle. The Gospel includes 4 Gospels written by the apostles: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They describe events during the earthly life of Jesus Christ.
The book of the Apostle describes the events after His ascension to heaven. This is the beginning of the apostolic preaching and the Orthodox-Christian Church. The Apostle contains the historical book "Acts of the Holy Apostles", 21-but the Epistle of the Apostles and the prophetic book "The Revelation of John the Theologian".
II - CHRISTIAN BELIEF.
The Creed is the shortest definition of the Orthodox Christian faith. It has 12 members (parts).
The first 7 members were confirmed at the 1st, and the remaining 5 at the 2nd Ecumenical Councils (325 and 381).
The assertion was based on not changing the Symbol anymore. The unchanging Symbol of Faith remained only with Orthodox Christians. Western Christians, following the Roman Church, changed the 8th member.
The 1st member of the Creed speaks about the Lord God, the 2nd before and including the 7th members speak about Jesus Christ and the 8th about the Holy Spirit. 9th about the Church,
The 10th is about baptism, the 11th is about the resurrection from the dead, and the 12th is about the hereafter. All these members are detailed in the Catechism.
Since baptism is a sacrament, all 7 sacraments are dealt with in the 10th term: Baptism, Confirmation, Repentance, Communion, Marriage, Priesthood and Blessing of Oil. A sacrament is a sacred act through which the grace of the Holy Spirit, or the saving power of God, is given to a person.
At the liturgy (in the third part), after the exclamation of the deacon: "Doors, doors, let us behold wisdom," the choir sings the Symbol of Faith and each verse is marked by the sound of a bell.
Every Orthodox Christian should know by heart the Symbol of Faith. Of course, you also need to know its meaning. During baptism, the newly baptized speaks the Symbol of Faith, and if this is a baby, then the godfather speaks for him.
III - CHRISTIAN HOPE.
This part of the Catechism is called Christian Hope because prayer is taught here. Prayer is communication with our Father, the Lord God, and from this comes the hope of hearing our prayer. Therefore, the part of the Catechism in which prayer is studied is called hope.
The example of Christian prayer is the Lord's Prayer (Our Father) for us, which was given to us by the Lord God Jesus Christ Himself (Matthew 6: 9-13) (Luke 11: 2-4). It can be divided into three parts: invocation, petition, and praise. It is like a letter that contains a greeting, a request, and an end.
IV - CHRISTIAN LOVE.
This part of the Catechism is called Christian love, because it contains the teaching about the Christian life. The whole life of a Christian and all his relationships should be built on Christian love.
The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20: 2-17; Deuteronomy 5: 6-21)
The Ten Commandments were given in the Old Testament (1615 BC) to the Prophet Moses on Mount Sinai, on the fiftieth day of the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt. All of Jesus Christ's preaching is based on the Old Testament and deepens it. When the ancient Jews accused Him of teaching something else, He answered them: “Do not think that I have come to break the law and the prophets; I came not to destroy, but to fulfill ”(Matthew 5:17). Thus, the Jews were divided into two groups. The first group followed Jesus Christ. The second group not only did not follow Him, but considered Him a dangerous rebel.
Thus, the ancient Jews and their descendants now interpret the commandments literally, and Jesus Christ interprets them broadly. It is a sin not only to violate them, but also sin and any act that, directly or indirectly, leads to the violation of the commandment. This is the main difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament and people who adhere to the first or second.
The 10 Commandments and Beatitudes from the Gospel, for almost 2000 years, have been the foundation of all civilized societies. Our civil laws are based on these commandments. Keeping the commandments creates prosperity in our life on earth, as well as eternal salvation. (Recently, there has been a gradual deviation from Christian norms in life).
Catholics, and after them the entire Western world, are very close to understanding the commandments, just like the ancient Jews - that is, literally. Often you can hear from them that since I did not kill anyone, it means that I am not sinful.
Beatitudes (Matthew 5: 3-12; Luke 6: 20-23)
The Ten Commandments, together with the Beatitudes, are the foundation of the Christian teaching on life. The Ten Commandments describe the commandments by which we should live, and the Beatitudes teach us what kind of dispositions we should have. The Beatitudes do not violate the Ten Commandments, but complete them. The Beatitudes are sung at the Liturgy during the Little Entrance.
Orthodox Christianity teaches us not only to live according to the commandments, but also to gradually drive out sinful habits and correct ourselves. The Beatitudes show us the way of this correction.
Catechism(Greek κατήχησις; Lat. catechismus, catechesis - oral instruction, instruction) - a short instruction in faith to new-born Christians or to those who wish to be Baptized; a guide containing the main provisions of the Christian doctrine; genre of Christian doctrinal literature.
In early Christianity, oral instruction to those who were preparing to receive Baptism was called catechism. It is in this sense that this word is used in the New Testament. Thus, the "catechism" has become a genre of Christian literature, revealing the unshakable doctrinal principles of Christianity.
In the modern sense, the catechism can be called a reference book on the basic dogmatic concepts of Orthodoxy. This is a book containing in a concise form the quintessence of Christianity, moreover, in a form that should not cause confusion or ambiguous interpretations. It is a concentrated expression of what it considers to be the necessary foundation of every person's faith.
In this form, traditional for us, the catechism was first formed in the West. The first book, called the Catechism, was the work of Andreas Althamer, compiled in the form of questions and answers at the beginning of the 16th century.
However, even in the early Christian era, St. , St. , blzh. Augustine belonged to whole cycles of catechism or homily (omili), which served as a model for the later medieval and modern European catechisms. Those preparing to receive Baptism needed to get an idea of the meaning of the Church Sacraments, as well as get acquainted with the Symbol of Faith as the most important presentation of the foundations of Christian doctrine, with the Lord's Prayer ("Our Father") as an expression of the essence of Christian spirituality and with the Ten Commandments as the main moral guide for Christians. In early Christianity, the genre form of the catechism, like its content, was quite free - not necessarily a question and answer. And in the Middle Ages, in the Western Church, numerous doctrinal guidelines for clergy and laity were created, far from the genre originality of modern catechisms.
In its modern terminological meaning, catechism (as a dogmatically accurate statement of the foundations of faith in questions and answers) appeared in Western Europe during the Reformation.
In the Russian church tradition, preparation for baptism was called "catechumens", and those who underwent such training were called "catechumens." There was also the word "catechuver", which denoted the book of teachings for those preparing to accept Christianity, and the expression "spoken words", that is, teachings for the catechumens. Until the 17th century in Russia, enumerations of the main categories of Christianity, together with the Symbol of Faith and the Catechism, were usually placed in primers, explanatory prayer books and other educational and liturgical collections or vaults.
The first Orthodox catechism among the Eastern Slavs was developed by the teacher of the Lviv fraternal school Lavrenty Zizaniy. However, due to poor translation into Slavic, his catechism turned out to be largely inaccurate. As a result, the circulation was confiscated and almost completely destroyed. Researchers associate several more, unfortunately, not preserved catechisms of the late 16th - first third of the 17th century with the name of Lawrence Zizania and his brother Stephen.
After Zizania, the Russian Church until the 20th century had two official Orthodox catechisms. The first is the "Orthodox Confession of the Catholic and Apostolic Church of the Eastern" by the famous rector of the Kiev Academy, the Kiev Metropolitan, and the second is the Extensive Christian Catechism of the Moscow Metropolitan. These catechisms mostly follow the traditional pattern: the explanation of the Lord's Prayer, the Creed and the Ten Commandments, as well as Christian sacraments.
For almost three centuries of the history of Russian theological science, the Russian Church used the catechism of Moscow saint Filaret (Drozdov). Back in the first third of the 19th century, it was recommended for use by the Holy Synod. It is this catechism, generously republished by Orthodox book publishers, that often becomes the first “reference book” in the field of Orthodox theology for many neophytes.
In the XX century, a large number of author's catechisms appeared: Met. , ep. Alexandra (Semyonov-Tyan-Shanskiy), St. and etc.
At present, by the definition of the Council of Bishops of the Russian Orthodox Church of June 27, 2008 "On issues of the internal life and external activities of the Russian Orthodox Church" "it is recognized that it is important to start work on the creation of a modern catechism of the Russian Orthodox Church" (p. 21). At a meeting of the Holy Synod on July 27, 2009, it was decided “to begin the preparation of the modern catechism of the Russian Orthodox Church” (magazine 62).